Make an effort to minimise your consumption of processed meats such as sausages, salamis, ready meals, but also soy (due to high contents of phytoestrogen – see toxins below) and cow’s milk.

Milk substitutes such as almond or hazelnut milk are less likely to be contaminated by hormones used to optimise industrial milk and meat production yields. Minimise exposure to heavy metals, for example from cheap fish. Furthermore, green tea increases energy levels and Ginko Biloba improves circulation in capillaries.

Several micronutrients such as vitamins, vitaminoids, amino acids and trace elements have proven themselves effective in improving sperm quantity, mobility and shape. This directly translates into better overall sperm quality and therefore a higher chance of pregnancy.

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Human sperm’s 11-week lead time to maturity, however, makes it costly and time-consuming to source ingredients and prepare quality food on a daily basis. A food supplement is a much cheaper and convenient method to supply the male body with the sperm nutrients it needs on a daily basis.

Sperm Production Takes A Long Time

Spermatogenesis is the production process of healthy sperm cells called spermatozoa, commonly known as sperm.

During this process, male primordial stem cells called spermatogonia undergo cell division (meiosis) to produce spermatozoa. These are the primary male gametes (reproduction cells carrying the male half of the normal set of chromosomes) in many sexually reproducing organisms.

Driven by stem cell division, spermatogenesis starts at puberty and usually continues until death.

The maturation process takes a total of 64 days. Transportation and storage in the testicles takes another 2 weeks.

The first “higher overall quality” sperm will therefore be found in your seminal fluid only 10 weeks after you start any measures to improve them.

ACTION: Produce more sperm by implementing any diet change you make for a minimum of three months – ideally of course until successful conception!

Why Sperm Nutrients Must be Supplied Permanently

Sperm cells take 11 weeks to mature in the testicles before they are ready for ejaculation. If you adjust your diet today it will thus take three months for the better sperm to be ready for fertilisation. You must therefore keep the diet or supplement on an ongoing basis – ideally until your partner is pregnant or you decide for a different treatment.

VIDEO: How Micronutrients Improve Sperm Quality

A healthy, balanced diet will require a little more planning and spending than a cheap, high-carb fast food diet. But the benefits to your spermatogenesis as well as your overall health and fitness will be vast.

Click the button to read the top 12 male fertility supplements comparison

Tip Two: Keep Them Cool!

You will produce more sperm if your testicles are at the ideal temperature for sperm development. This is between 29 and 35 degrees Celcius. This is the reason that testicles are on the outside of the human body, which has a normal operating temperature of 37 degrees Celcius.

If the temperature inside the testicles rises to above 36 degress celcius, sperm production slows down significantly!

The overall process of spermiogenesis is highly sensitive to environmental factors such as hormones, temperature and resource availability. Suboptimal conditions will therefore inevitably result in a compromised final product. This will reduce the chance that a healthy, motile sperm will fertilise an egg.

Always make sure your scrotum is well aired and cooled by choosing boxers over briefs and avoiding seat heating, long sauna and tanning bed sessions.

Tip Three: Maximise Your Male Sexual Hormone Levels!

Male sexual hormone production peaks during the REM dream phase. To maximise your production it is therefore important to get lots of high quality sleep, ideally seven hours or more. Clinical research has proven that high intensity exercise (HIIT) increases male sexual hormone production, particularly when large muscle groups are activated.

The large leg muscles (glutes and quadriceps), pectoral (chest), latissimus and rhomboids (back) are best activated using compound exercises (involving multiple large muscle groups) such as squats, deadlifts, benchpresses and pullups. Performing these exercises regularly will increase your male sexual hormone levels and contribute to improving your quality of life including your physical health, appearance, confidence and your sex life.

Stay away from short cuts!

Hormones used in accelerate muscle growth will adversely affect sperm production. They cause hormone imbalances and testicular atrophy (shrinking). It is therefore strongly advised not to consume (by injection or orally) any additional hormones especially when attempting to conceive.

Tip Four: Masturbate Less!

The ejaculate of a healthy, physically mature adult male of reproductive age with no fertility-related problems typically contains between 300 million and 500 million spermatozoa.

It is interesting to note that only a few hundred sperm cells survive in the acidic environment of the vagina and become candidates for successful fertilization.

You therefore need to masturbate less to have more sperm available for your perfect shot.

ACTION: Produce more sperm by masturbating less and having more sex! To maximise your sperm count refrain from sex and masturbation 2-5 days before you deliver your perfect shot!

Clinical research has shown that excessive masturbation affects virility by promoting both erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation in the long term. Sperm samples obtained via sexual intercourse contain between 70% and 120% more sperm compared to sperm samples from masturbation. The reasons for this are not fully understood. The cause is thought to originate in the holistic stimulation of nerves across all sensory systems during sex.

A comprehensive semen analysis also includes the measurement of concentration of white blood cells, level of fructose (fuel for the sperm), overall volume of ejaculate, pH (needs to be alkaline as the vagina is acidic) and liquefaction time of the ejaculate.

Tip Five: Minimise Toxins!

Studies have shown that sperm counts in Europe and the USA have declined dramatically and continue to do so at a rate of almost 2% annually.

In 2008, a report showed evidence of the effect of feminising chemicals on male development in all classes of vertebrae species as a world-wide phenomenon.

Oestrogen is a female hormone, but in high concentrations also a toxin. General health may therefore dramatically increase when oestrogen is minimised. One way to do this is to improve your diet with foods low in carbohydrates and high in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids. 1

Additionally you should minimise all use of recreational drugs including alcohol and nicotine. Some research suggests that smoking lowers the sex drive and overall blood circulation including to the penis.

ACTION: Produce more sperm by eating unprocessed foods. Do not smoke, minimise alcohol intake, other drugs and all other toxins!

Tip Six: Remember To Include This Important Amino Acid

L-Arginine, or simply Arginine is critical for a many metabolic processes. Multiple studies have shown that it is particularly effective at boosting male fertility.

In 1998 Luis Ignarro, Robert Furchgott and Ferid Murad were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research on the benefits of Nitric Oxide (NO), which is directly and exclusively produced by Arginine.

ACTION: Produce more sperm and boost erectile function by consuming 3,000mg Arginine in combination with Pine Bark Extract per day7. Examples of such products include aminoexpert’s VIGARIN, Prelox by PharmaNord and amitamin m forte.

Many male fertility supplements include Arginine. Click the button to read the top 12 male fertility supplements comparison

Tip Seven: Try Meditating and Behave Better!

The hormone imbalances caused by excess stress, lack of exercise and poor diet have a major impact on the sensitive process of spermatogenesis.

Improved time management and communication in your work and personal life including your relationship will reduce emotional stress.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) meditation is the only meditation practise which is clinically proven to reduce stress, depression, anxiety and distress and in ameliorating the quality of life of healthy individuals8, 9.

In 10 minutes per day you can improve self-control, objectivity, affect tolerance, enhanced flexibility, equanimity, improved concentration and mental clarity. You will also improve your emotional intelligence and the ability to relate to others and one’s self with kindness, acceptance and compassion.

VIDEO: What is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

A close relative to MBSR, MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) and mindfulness skills have been found to have a positive relationship with marital satisfaction 10, 11. It is therefore thought that Mindfulness treatment improves marital satisfaction.

Tip Eight: Switch Off Your Bluetooth!

Although not yet conclusive, research by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology suggests that electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones has an impact on the health of sperm. You should therefore keep your bluetooth switched off as much as possible.

ACTION: Produce more sperm by switching off your bluetooth. If you need to have it on, do carry your mobile phone in your jacket pocket instead of your trouser pocket. When carried there, it will also tighten the fabric unnecessarily and increase the temperature around your scrotum.

Tip Nine: Try A Male Fertility Supplement

A healthy diet optimised to provide ideal conditions for healthy spermiogenesis will provide all the building blocks for the sperm cells themselves, the nutrients for storage and activation (swimming) when they need to as well as the antioxidants which will help repair any damage done to the DNA of your sperm.

ACTION: Produce more sperm by maximising your antioxidant intake such as vitamin B and C, D (exposure to sun), E and A, Folic Acid and Zinc. This is done most efficiently through eating powerfoods and supplements!

Vitamin D is a useful compound to include. Research has shown that vitamin D is important for male fertility and sperm development, but scientists are still uncovering the exact mechanisms12. Folate also affects semen quality. Scientists have found a relationship between low folate levels and having a lower sperm count 13. It is best to take a fertility supplement which contains a combination of these important nutrients to maximise your chances of improving your fertility.

A natural food supplementation therapy for men is

Relatively inexpensive

Effective after three to six months

Able to increase sperm motility by up to 23%, ejaculate volume by up to 33% and sperm count by up to 215% [2].

Without side effects

VIDEO: Easy & Effective Ways to Produce More Sperm

Here is a useful video with a summary of many of the points discussed above:

The building blocks for healthy sperm cells can most cost-effectively be supplied by purposely designed composite supplements such as fertilsan M, Profertil, Vitamen or Vigarin.

A considerable range of male fertility supplements are available on the UK market. The products differ widely in price and composition. Menfertility.org has compared 12 of them in terms of value for money and the nutrients they provide. Click the link below for more information.

Click the button to read the side-by-side comparison of the top 12 natural male fertility supplements

WHY NUTRIENTS MUST BE SUPPLIED PERMANENTLY

Sperm cells take 11 weeks to mature in the testicles before they are ready for ejaculation. If you adjust your diet today it will thus take three months for the better sperm to be ready for fertilisation. You must therefore keep the diet or supplement on an ongoing basis – ideally until your partner is pregnant or you decide for a different treatment.

Tip Ten: Start Yoga!

You might be surprised to learn that yoga has been scientifically proven to benefit male fertility.

Specific yoga poses such as the Pigeon Pose, Dancers Pose, Twisting Triangle and Sun Salutations will benefit male fertility by

Stimulating blood flow around your pelvic area

Opening your hip joints

Reducing stress levels

A meta-study of 77 clinical studies investigating the benefits of yoga on male fertility concluded:

ACTION: Read the menfertility.org article on male fertility yoga, read a good simple book about yoga (such as the KISS Guide To Yoga) and find a local beginners class. The author recommends Ashtanga Yoga and separate, regular Mindfulness meditation practise.

Conclusion

Every man, who intends to father a child can produce more sperm by implementing a multitude of lifestyle choices.

Increasing sperm quantity (count) and quality (motility and morphology) therefore requires a holistic approach. The overall quality of the ejaculate and the health of the spermatozoa is a direct reflection of the health of the individual.

You can thus improve your hormone balance by eating better and more clean foods while avoiding processed ones.

Sleep and exercise more to increase sexual hormone production and communicate and plan more with your partner. This will reduce stress and improve hormone balance.

Aydin S, Inci O, Alagol B. The role of arginine, indomethacin and kallikrein in the treatment of oligoasthenospermia. International Urology and Nephrology. Internet. 1995. 27(2):199-202. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7591579 ↩

Dear Graham, You can still father children via IVF or ICSI artificial fertilisation techniques even with very low numbers of sperm. Do you have semen analysis results from the laboratory confirming your doctor’s statement?

Dear Waqar, please discuss this with an independent male fertility consultant, because you need to exclude all possible medical conditions first. Based on those findings he/she will then be able to suggest the best course of action. It is important that the consultant is independent, has your best interested at heart and does not try to sell you a treatment. Best of luck!